Three ways to make your copy more creative Ogilvy was right. If you want someone to buy what you're selling — whether you're pitching products and services or positions and ideas — you must first engage them. And nothing engages audience members quite so well as creative material. Creative elements get attention, communicate more clearly and enhance … [Read more...] about Captivate your audience
Metaphor
Master of metaphor
PNNL science writer shows how to communicate complex concepts When Pacific Northwest National Laboratory science writer Tom Rickey wrote a release about the lab's work "Making dams safer for fish around the world," he didn't get lost in the scientific gobbledygook. Instead, he wrote: "Think of the pressure change you feel when an elevator zips you up multiple floors … [Read more...] about Master of metaphor
‘Keeping to the shadows’
Caravaggio in extended metaphor In Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane, Andrew Graham-Dixon compares the artist to the light lights and dark darks of his paintings. Notice how he extends the metaphor: "He was one of the most electrifyingly original artists ever to have lived …" "He lived much of his life as a fugitive, and that is how he is preserved in history — a … [Read more...] about ‘Keeping to the shadows’
Your brain on metaphor
People have always learned through analogy When my grandfather first saw a car, he didn’t think “automobile.” He thought, “That’s a carriage that moves without a horse — it’s a horseless carriage.” He added to his knowledge by comparing the new concept to something he already understood. In other words, he learned through metaphor. “Our ordinary conceptual system, in … [Read more...] about Your brain on metaphor
Readers want less | December 2009
"Brevity is the sister of talent." — Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright Readers want less Establish copy length limits Size does matter. All things else being equal, your readers would rather read a short piece than a long piece. In writing — as in eating, imbibing, reality TV viewing and so much else in life — it's good to set limits. In other words, establish an … [Read more...] about Readers want less | December 2009